Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

John Carreyrou

May 2018 · Sold by Vintage

About this ebook

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The gripping story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos—one of the biggest corporate frauds in history—a tale of ambition and hubris set amid the bold promises of Silicon Valley, rigorously reported by the prize-winning journalist. With a new Afterword covering her trial and sentencing, bringing the story to a close.

“Chilling ... Reads like a thriller ... Carreyrou tells [the Theranos story] virtually to perfection.” —The New York Times Book Review

In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the next Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry with its breakthrough device, which performed the whole range of laboratory tests from a single drop of blood. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes’s worth at an estimated $4.5 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn’t work. Erroneous results put patients in danger, leading to misdiagnoses and unnecessary treatments. All the while, Holmes and her partner, Sunny Balwani, worked to silence anyone who voiced misgivings—from journalists to their own employees.

Ratings and reviews

Great story and very timely cautionary tale about what NOT to do as an entrepreneur in SV. Writing is a bit underwhelming in places, but overall solid and certainly hard to put down towards the end. Appreciated the description of the trial afterwards. Sad to think that EH could have lived a relatively normal life if she had just folded when it was clear she was attempting something far too difficult and ambitious; a little bit of humility would have gone a long way.

A disturbing investigative expose on the dark side of Silicon Valley, and how the power of cult personality can be effectively used to silence the truth for the sake of profit. One of the best examples of citizen journalism published, and one of the best reasons why refusing to follow immoral orders is always essential.

I needed to read and finish before watching the documentary and pending legal public battle. I'm not a big Reader, but between the topic and the writing I couldn't out down the eBook.

About the author

JOHN CARREYROU is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter at The Wall Street Journal. For his extensive coverage of Theranos, Carreyrou was awarded the George Polk Award for Financial Reporting, the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism in the category of beat reporting, and the Barlett & Steele Silver Award for Investigative Business Journalism. Carreyrou lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three children.